Second pro win for dominant Udofia

JP Smith

Luton boxer Linus Udofia made it two wins out of two with victory over Manchester’s Yailton Neves at York Hall on Saturday.

On a packed Goodwin Promotions card that saw 18 bouts including four title fights, the 23-year-old won every round against a very elusive southpaw and stamped his authority on the fight from the first bell.

It was a case of history repeating itself, as, just like on his debut, Udofia’s opponent was changed on fight week, as he had been due to face Liam Griffiths, but was instead up against Neves, who was in his fourth pro outing, having lost his three previous fights.

Boxing on the front foot, Udofia pushed his opponent back as both fighters tried to find their range in the first round.

The second saw Neves attempt to push forward himself, but Udofia used excellent head movement to deliver a flurry of counter punches that rocked his opponent back.

Neves preferred to back off and hold in the third, but this strategy proved unsuccessful as Luton’s middleweight landed clean shots to force the issue.

The final round was by far the best, with Udofia cornering Neves and landing a sharp combination of body shots and two powerful headshots.

As the final bell approached, there was just about enough time for the former Hockwell Ring fighter to land one more devastating head shot on his way to a 40-36 victory in front of a large following from Luton.

After the bout, Udofia said: “We had prepared for everything, but he was a very cagey opponent. I have never seen anyone fight like that even in the amateurs. We had been training for everything though, especially to make me more aggressive.

“I would say my performance was a seven out of ten as I was getting frustrated. I had to come and find him because if I hadn’t we would have been just staring at each other, so I had to put it on him a bit.”

Asked about his future plans, the former Lea Manor student was unequivocal, adding: “I think Goodwin Promotions have another show on in September 17 and I’d like to be on that.